Locusts Socks - take two

Recently I got back a pair of socks that I had knit in 2009, which had developed a hole right where the cuff met the top stockinette section. Weird failure-mode, but after 9 years of service, I can't complain too much.

I put in a lifeline, snipped and seperated the intact bottoms from the cuffs. I lost a little more yarn on the sock with the hole, so I worked on that one first to knit the leg a little longer before adding a new cuff in a contrast yarn. For the second sock I will do the same, but match the length of the first sock.

This yarn is fairly fine, and I had needed to knit it on size 0s originally. I think they still have some wear in them though. The colors have lost a lot of their brightness, but settled into a nice sort of forest drab.

Orange Socks

I finished the pair of socks I had started in the woods and knit on a small piece of the Appalachian Trail. Good thing too, as the weather has just started to turn cooler, and Diamondsoled could use another pair of socks.

Yarn: Shepherd Baby Wool 4 Ply

Yarn Supplier: Knittin' Kitten in Cambridge, MA

Needles: US 1 / 2.25mm

Pattern: cuff down, 2X2 rib, stockinette, slip stitch heel flap heel, wedge toe

Since Diamondsoled had been a really good sock recipient (not only does she wear her other hand knit socks regularly and care for them correctly, she also noticed someone else's handknits had developed a small hole and delivered them to me for repair), she was on the short list for another pair.

So we visited my stash, and she picked out some yarn. And man, did she ever pick some deep stash. My now sophomore in college offspring was in elementary school when I bought this yarn...

I am not sure if it is due to the age of the yarn, the yarn line itself, or storage conditions at some point, but one of the balls of yarn had a lot of weak spots around the outer part of the ball. Pulling from the center was enough to solve the problem, and I just didn't use that most outer part. Annoying though!

Otherwise, I am pleased with these. They are not particularly interesting, between the solid color and the stockinette, but that is exactly what the recipient wanted for socks to be worn to work. So success!

Bulky Teal Beanie

The last thing in the old to-blog pile was this super cute bulky cabled hat.

Yarn: bulky merino yarn in color DR-36

Yarn Supplier: Reyen Design Studios

Needles: US 10.5 / 6.5 mm

Pattern: Close cables hat / Tett i flett-lue by Anna & Heidi Pickles

I bought this yarn in January 2014 at an event. The dyer usually dyes silk and hand felted items. They still sell silk yarn, but this bulky merino seems to have been an experiment.

The color is fabulous, the wool a little sheepy, and this bled like crazy on my hands and needles. If I had realized before hand, I would have pre-soaked it in a citric acid solution. Having said that, since it was a first attempt, I don't necessarily think Reyen's Design Studios would still have this problem, as their other wool and silk designs don't have this problem. It seemed like an early learning curve thing.